
The Carrero Effect trilogy
Leanne Marshall · Ongoing · 441.3k Words
Introduction
Chapter 1
“Emma?” Margaret Drake’s voice echoes toward me as the clip-clop of her stilettos come at me across the white marble floor from her internal office.
“Yes, Mrs. Drake?” I stand, unsure if I’m meant to, suddenly nervous and shy of this woman who has been letting me shadow her for over a week. I steady my hands on the hem at my waist and fix the obligatory smile on my face with grace.
“Mr. Carrero will be arriving shortly; make sure there’s fresh water with ice on his desk and clean glasses,” she smiles encouragingly, possibly sensing my unease.
“Have the espresso machine on and ready if he asks for one and all his mail and messages laid out on his desk before he arrives. When he does, please keep out of his way until I call you for introductions.” She pats my shoulder gently with a wide bright smile, a mannerism I’ve grown accustomed to.
“Yes, Mrs. Drake,” I nod, still trying not to feel in awe of the swirl of platinum blonde hair that is held on top of her head or the severely tailored jacket that reveals a curvy physique.
My mentor, Margo Drake, is a gorgeous and intelligent creature I can only look up to. When I met her a few days ago, I was floored by her physical appearance. My previous mentor had informed me Mrs. Drake was in her fifties and Mr. Carrero’s personal assistant. I expected someone colder and dragon-like, considering her crucial role in the business, not this designer-clad, fabulous temple before me with breathtaking beauty and natural friendliness.
“Oh, and Emma?” she pauses, turning slightly.
“Yes, Mrs. Drake?”
“This week, you’ll meet with Donna Moore. She’s Mr. Carrero’s personal shopper, and she’ll fit you out with appropriate work attire, anything you’ll need when representing him when you go on trips, events and such, and all that red-carpet crap he’s so fond of.” She smiles warmly with a little sigh and a raised brow, suggesting she disapproves of his public affairs.
I swallow, deliberately quelling the nerves once again. I was aware that my role would require me to be available on short notice for trips and functions, but I was never informed it would include the public side of Mr. Carrero at all.
Damn!
“Yes, Mrs. Drake,” I say, trying to work out how much I’ll have to spend to be red carpet ready, worried it may eat into my savings a bit more than I expected. A lot more than expected.
“It goes on company expenses, Emma. Mr. Carrero expects his staff to look a certain way,” she winks at me. “He considers it a necessary expense for all employees on the sixty-fifth floor.”
Mrs. Drake has this uncanny ability to read everyone’s mind. I like her ability; it removes awkward misunderstandings, nervous hesitations, and no second-guessing, and I find I work well with her because of it.
“Thank you, Mrs. Drake,” I nod.
“Call me Margo, Emma. You’ve been here for over a week, and I’m happy with your progress. We’re going to be working closely, so please.” She gives me a full warm smile before turning on her expensive high heels back toward the massive door of her own office.
I’m warmer, calmer. I’m getting a solid impression, Margo has taken a liking to me in my time here. That's right. I glance back at my computer's monitor, the company logo swirling in front of me as a screen saver: “Carrero Corporation.”
After working here for five years, I finally went from being an administrative assistant to a personal assistant to Mr. Jacob Carrero.
Carrero is everything you want in a playboy billionaire. He’s handsome in an ungodly devastating way, confident, and publicly popular among the female population. He has an Italian-meets American look about him inherited from his parents. His mother has the same mixed look, and he’s one of New York’s richest heirs.
The Carrero family is almost like royalty, and he is the eldest of their two princes who have grown up very publicly. He’s been gracing the social news pages for years, always charming the cameras that seek him out and always smiling in almost every picture they have caught him in.
I’ve done extensive research to prepare myself for working alongside him, but it makes me uneasy, despite not having met him yet. He’s been away taking personal time since before I was sent up here to replace my predecessor.
I know it’s a huge honor to get this position, but don’t know if I’ve overstepped my worth. I don’t know if I’m capable of the task ahead of me, capable of working with someone so young and all-encompassing as Jacob Carrero, the celebrity hotel tycoon and New York’s most eligible bachelor.
I pull my focus back to the task; putting my mind on doing something manual always helps me get myself together. I did as Margo asked and ready the large, expensive espresso machine in the white kitchen.
It’s almost 9.00 a.m. He will be arriving shortly; my nerves are so taut I may actually snap with the tension if it isn’t over soon.
Margo sweeps into the foyer in a graceful cloud of Chanel No. 9 and passes me at my desk near the entrance to our offices, indicating Mr. Carrero’s arrival. She smiles my way fondly and quickly as she passes and gives me an encouraging wink as though I am about to meet royalty. My heart stops.
Maybe I am.
Oh hell! Swallow. Deep breath. Relax.
As they approach, I hear her as she runs through his itinerary with him out in the hall. I know she’s been emailing him back and forth, but verbally being brought up to speed is something she told me he prefers as a recap. I’ll need to remember this as it will be my role soon enough.
I stay seated and keep my eyes on my keyboard, willing my nerves to remain under wraps.
Within a moment, all of them are past Margo’s inner door and in his office, door closed. Now that I have no visual distractions, I take a deep breath of relief and try again to type this document out, meeting my usual success, swift skill with a keyboard.
It seems like an eternity has passed when my switchboard lights up, and the distant voice of Margo interrupts my concentration. Unaware I’d been semi-holding my breath until that second. I give myself another stern inner shake.
“Emma, please come into Mr. Carrero’s office. Thank you.” Her voice sounds distant and tinny on the remarkably high-tech machine.
I let out a deep breath. Say to myself, ok, relax Emma. you can do it. Come on, go meet the prince. Oh no, your new boss.
Last Chapters
#275 275
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#274 274
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#273 273
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#272 272
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#271 271
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#270 270
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#269 269
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#268 268
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#267 267
Last Updated: 6/28/2025#266 266
Last Updated: 6/28/2025
You Might Like 😍
The Biker's Fate
I squeezed my eyes shut.
"Dani," he pressed. "Do you get me?"
"No, Austin, I don't," I admitted as I pulled my robe closed again and sat up. "You confuse me."
He dragged his hands down his face. "Tell me what's on your mind."
I sighed. "You're everything my parents warned me against. You're secretive, but you're also honest. I feel wholly protected by you, but then you scare me more than anyone I've ever known. You're a bad boy, but when I dated a so-called good one, he turned out to be the devil, so, yeah, I don't get you because you're not what I expected. You drive me crazier than anyone I've ever met, but then you make me feel complete. I'm feeling things I don't quite know how to process and that makes me want to run. I don't want to give up something that might be really, really good, but I also don't want to be stupid and fall for a boy just because he's super pretty and makes me come."
Danielle Harris is the daughter of an overprotective police chief and has led a sheltered life. As a kindergarten teacher, she's as far removed from the world of Harleys and bikers as you could get, but when she's rescued by the sexy and dangerous Austin Carver, her life is changed forever.
Although Austin 'Booker' Carver is enamored by the innocent Dani, he tries to keep the police chief's daughter at arm's length. But when a threat is made from an unexpected source, he finds himself falling hard and fast for the only woman who can tame his wild heart.
Will Booker be able to find the source of the threat before it's too late?
Will Dani finally give her heart to a man who's everything she's been warned about?
Accardi
“I thought you said you were done chasing me?” Gen mocked.
“I am done chasing you.”
Before she could formulate a witty remark, Matteo threw her down. She landed hard on her back atop his dining room table. She tried to sit up when she noticed what he was doing. His hands were working on his belt. It came free of his pants with a violent yank. She collapsed back on her elbows, her mouth gaping open at the display. His face was a mask of sheer determination, his eyes were a dark gold swimming with heat and desire. His hands wrapped around her thighs and pulled her to the edge of the table. He glided his fingers up her thighs and hooked several around the inside of her panties. His knuckles brushed her dripping sex.
“You’re soaking wet, Genevieve. Tell me, was it me that made you this way or him?” his voice told her to be careful with her answer. His knuckles slid down through her folds and she threw her head back as she moaned. “Weakness?”
“You…” she breathed.
Genevieve loses a bet she can’t afford to pay. In a compromise, she agrees to convince any man her opponent chooses to go home with her that night. What she doesn’t realize when her sister’s friend points out the brooding man sitting alone at the bar, is that man won’t be okay with just one night with her. No, Matteo Accardi, Don of one of the largest gangs in New York City doesn’t do one night stands. Not with her anyway.
The Prison Project
Can love tame the untouchable? Or will it only fuel the fire and cause chaos amongst the inmates?
Fresh out of high school and suffocating in her dead-end hometown, Margot longs for her escape. Her reckless best friend, Cara, thinks she's found the perfect way out for them both - The Prisoner Project - a controversial program offering a life-changing sum of money in exchange for time spent with maximum-security inmates.
Without hesitation, Cara rushes to sign them up.
Their reward? A one-way ticket into the depths of a prison ruled by gang leaders, mob bosses, and men the guards wouldn't even dare to cross...
At the centre of it all, meets Coban Santorelli - a man colder than ice, darker than midnight, and as deadly as the fire that fuels his inner rage. He knows that the project may very well be his only ticket to freedom - his only ticket to revenge on the one who managed to lock him up and so he must prove that he can learn to love…
Will Margot be the lucky one chosen to help reform him?
Will Coban be capable of bringing something to the table other than just sex?
What starts off as denial may very well grow in to obsession which could then fester in to becoming true love…
A temperamental romance novel.
The Lycan Prince’s Puppy
“Soon enough, you’ll be begging for me. And when you do—I’ll use you as I see fit, and then I’ll reject you.”
—
When Violet Hastings begins her freshman year at Starlight Shifters Academy, she only wants two things—honor her mother’s legacy by becoming a skilled healer for her pack and get through the academy without anyone calling her a freak for her strange eye condition.
Things take a dramatic turn when she discovers that Kylan, the arrogant heir to the Lycan throne who has made her life miserable from the moment they met, is her mate.
Kylan, known for his cold personality and cruel ways, is far from thrilled. He refuses to accept Violet as his mate, yet he doesn’t want to reject her either. Instead, he sees her as his puppy, and is determined to make her life even more of a living hell.
As if dealing with Kylan’s torment isn’t enough, Violet begins to uncover secrets about her past that change everything she thought she knew. Where does she truly come from? What is the secret behind her eyes? And has her whole life been a lie?
From Substitute To Queen
Heartbroken, Sable discovered Darrell having sex with his ex in their bed, while secretly transferring hundreds of thousands to support that woman.
Even worse was overhearing Darrell laugh to his friends: "She's useful—obedient, doesn't cause trouble, handles housework, and I can fuck her whenever I need relief. She's basically a live-in maid with benefits." He made crude thrusting gestures, sending his friends into laughter.
In despair, Sable left, reclaimed her true identity, and married her childhood neighbor—Lycan King Caelan, nine years her senior and her fated mate. Now Darrell desperately tries to win her back. How will her revenge unfold?
From substitute to queen—her revenge has just begun!
I Slapped My Fiancé—Then Married His Billionaire Nemesis
Technically, Rhys Granger was my fiancé now—billionaire, devastatingly hot, and a walking Wall Street wet dream. My parents shoved me into the engagement after Catherine disappeared, and honestly? I didn’t mind. I’d crushed on Rhys for years. This was my chance, right? My turn to be the chosen one?
Wrong.
One night, he slapped me. Over a mug. A stupid, chipped, ugly mug my sister gave him years ago. That’s when it hit me—he didn’t love me. He didn’t even see me. I was just a warm-bodied placeholder for the woman he actually wanted. And apparently, I wasn’t even worth as much as a glorified coffee cup.
So I slapped him right back, dumped his ass, and prepared for disaster—my parents losing their minds, Rhys throwing a billionaire tantrum, his terrifying family plotting my untimely demise.
Obviously, I needed alcohol. A lot of alcohol.
Enter him.
Tall, dangerous, unfairly hot. The kind of man who makes you want to sin just by existing. I’d met him only once before, and that night, he just happened to be at the same bar as my drunk, self-pitying self. So I did the only logical thing: I dragged him into a hotel room and ripped off his clothes.
It was reckless. It was stupid. It was completely ill-advised.
But it was also: Best. Sex. Of. My. Life.
And, as it turned out, the best decision I’d ever made.
Because my one-night stand isn’t just some random guy. He’s richer than Rhys, more powerful than my entire family, and definitely more dangerous than I should be playing with.
And now, he’s not letting me go.
The mafia princess return
His Mission
Emily is suddenly thrown from one world of danger and uncertainty into another. The two teens ride the rollercoaster of love, unbelievable betrayal and heartache.
Omega Bound
Thane Knight is the alpha of the Midnight Pack of the La Plata Mountain Range, the largest wolf shifter pack in the world. He is an alpha by day and hunts the shifter trafficking ring with his group of mercenaries by night. His hunt for vengeance leads to one raid that changes his life.
Tropes:
Touch her and die/Slow burn romance/Fated Mates/Found family twist/Close circle betrayal/Cinnamon roll for only her/Traumatized heroine/Rare wolf/Hidden powers/Knotting/Nesting/Heats/Luna/Attempted assassination
Mated by Contract to the Alpha
William—my devastatingly handsome, wealthy werewolf fiancé destined to become Delta—was supposed to be mine forever. After five years together, I was ready to walk down the aisle and claim my happily ever after.
Instead, I found him with her. And their son.
Betrayed, jobless, and drowning in my father's medical bills, I hit rock bottom harder than I ever imagined possible. Just when I thought I'd lost everything, salvation came in the form of the most dangerous man I'd ever encountered.
Damien Sterling—future Alpha of the Silver Moon Shadow Pack and ruthless CEO of Sterling Group—slid a contract across his desk with predatory grace.
“Sign this, little doe, and I'll give you everything your heart desires. Wealth. Power. Revenge. But understand this—the moment you put pen to paper, you become mine. Body, soul, and everything in between.”
I should have run. Instead, I signed my name and sealed my fate.
Now I belong to the Alpha. And he's about to show me just how wild love can be.
My Possessive Alpha Twins For Mate
My drunk stepfather remained indifferent, his weight suffocating, making it hard to breathe as my heart raced.
Suddenly, the door slammed open, and two figures burst in.
"Get off her!" a deafening roar echoed.
I didn't expect the twin brothers who'd bullied me at school to come charging in like gods to save me.
After my grandmother passed, I had to move in with my mom and stepdad, who treated me like a servant. I prayed every day for my 18th birthday to come, so l could leave and escape this broken home.
However, on my first day at my new school, l encountered the legendary twins everyone feared.
To make matters worse, the Moon Goddess revealed they were both my mates!
After helping me out with my stepdad, my twin mate cornered me, played with my hair, and whispered possessively, "You belong to us, our little mate..."












